Article carrier



July 25, 1961 E. ARNESO'N ARTICLE CARRIER Filed Oct. 26. 1955 United States Patent 2,993,635 ARTICLE CARRIER Edwin L. Arneson, Morris, 111., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Federal Paper Board Company, Inc, Bogota, N .J., a corporation of New York Filed Oct. 26, 1955, Ser. No. 542,941 2 Claims. (Cl. 229-40) This invention relates to packaging and is more particularly concerned with improvements in a packaging unit which comprises a combination container and carrier for receiving a plurality of cylindrical articles such as cans of beer, vegetables, or the like, which are arranged in row formation in the carrier.

It is a general object of the invention to provide a portable container which is formed from a single sheet of paperboard, or similar material, cut and scored to provide a pair of opposed side walls, a top and a bottom with the top and bottom connecting the top and bottom edges, respectively, of the side walls and with the top and bottom edges of the side walls having apertures which are in vertical alignment and which are adapted 'to receive the top and bottom edges of cylindrical objects positioned in row formation within the container.

It is a more specific object of the invention to provide a container formed from a single blank of paperboard or similar material which is adapted to hold a plurality of merchandise containers, such as cans or the like, wherein the blank is cut and scored to provide a top and depending side walls which terminate in bottom forming flaps adapted to be positioned around the cans which are arranged in row formation, the flaps being connected at the top and the side walls and having slots in the top and bottom edges at the junction of the side Walls and the top and bottom walls which are adapted to receive edge portions of the cans to retain the same in row formation within the carrier and reinforcing members cooperating with the slots to prevent tearing of the edges of the material around the same.

It is a further object of the invent-ion to provide a carrier of the type described having slot formations for receiving the top and bottom edges of the merchandise containers which slot formations are reinforced by inturned flaps which are provided with cooperating apertures and which are secured to the inner walls of the carrier around the edges of the slots to rein-force the same against rupture when the merchandise containers are positioned therein. I

It is another object of the invention to provide in an article carrier of the type described an edge reinforcement at the open ends of the carrier which is adapted to prevent accidental tearing of the top, bottom and sides at the edges thereof, with subsequent release of the end articles therein, in combination with a reinforcement for the apertures along the top and bottom edges of the side walls which receive the top and bottom edges of the articles positioned therein.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from a consideration of the article carrier which is shown by Way of illustration in the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a carrier in fully erected and partially filled condition which embodies therein the principal features of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary section taken on the line 22 of FIG. 1 to an enlarged scale;

FIG. 3 is a plan view, with portions broken away, showing the inside face of the blank of paperboard which has been cut and scored preparatory to forming the carrier; and

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the blank shown in FIG. 3 in the folded condition in which it is supplied to the user.

Referring to the drawings there is illustrated in FIG. 1 a combination article container and carrier which embodies therein the principal features of the invention and which is adapted to be formed from a single blank of paperboard or other material which is relatively flexible and bendable, which is capable of being cut and folded as shown and which has suificient strength and rigidity to support the cans or other articles which it is designed to receive.

The paperboard blank 10, which is illustrated particularly in FIG. 3, is substantially symmetrical about the transverse line a-a and is divided by transversely extending score lines 11, 12, 13 and 14 into a plurality of connected panels of rectangular shape which are adapted to be folded into wall forming relation in the completed carrier. The endmost score lines 11 and 14 cooperate with the transversely extending end edges 15 and .16, respectively, to define a pair of rectanglar end panels 17 and 18 which are adapted to be positioned with port-ions of their free marginal end edges in overlapping relation to form the top wall of the container. One of these panels is preferably provided with an adhesive strip or area 19 adjacent the end edge thereof for securing together the overlapped portions of the same. Other fastening means such as staples, or the like, may be used, if desired. The score lines 11, 12 and 13, 14 define rectangular side forming panels 20 and 21, which, in the set up form of the carrier, are in oppositely disposed relation. The score lines 12 and 13 define between them a rectangular bottom forming panel 22 which is adapted to be positioned at right angles to the side wall panels 20 and 21 to bridge the article receiving space between the same and form the bottom wall of the carrier. The top wall forming panels '17 and 18 are each provided with a pair of apertures 23 arranged in transversely spaced relation and so positioned that in the overlapped condition of the panels 17 and 18 they will be superimposed on each other and form finger holds for carrying the container.

Can accommodating apertures 24 are died out of the blank along the top and bottom edges of the side wall panels 20 and 21. The apertures 24 are arranged in longitudinally spaced relation and aligned both longitudinally and transversely of the blank. They are of truncated triangular outline and the direction of orientation of the apertures alternates in the successive transversely extending rows thereof. The apertures 24 ae defined by relatively wide base margins 25, opposed parallel margins 26 of somewhat lesser width and convergent angular side margins 27, 27' connecting the respective ends of margins 25 and 26. The base margins 25 of each of the apertures in each transverse row coincide with the crease lines 11, 12,- 13 and 14 while the oppositely disposed parallel. margins 26 coincide with parallel crease lines 28, 29, 60 and 31 which are arranged in spaced relation to the corner forming crease lines 11, 12, 13 and 14 and whichprovide a bendable fold or double crease at the juncture of the side walls with the top and bottom walls of the carrier so that the edges of the material defining the apertures 24 are positioned to engage with the surfaces ofthe articles in the carrier, the width of the bot tom panel 22 being slightly less than the maximum transverse width of a pair of aligned objects. The apertures 24 are spaced transversely across the blank in accord: ance with the spacing of the cans or other objects to be packaged.

The blank '10 is also provided with elongated longitudinally projecting reinforcing flaps or flanges 32, 32' along its longitudinally extending opposed side margins, the

flanges being integrally hinged to the respective margins by the longitudinally extending crease lines 33, 33'. The blank is also provided with a plurality of laterally extending longitudinally spaced flap formations 34 which are integral with the flange formations 32, 32' and which serve as reinforcement for the walls of the container around the apertures 24 when folded thereover. The lateral extensions or flap formations 34 are identical and are each in the form of a truncated triangle with the base portion extending along the marginal edge of the flange 32 or 32' and with the outer end thereof terminating on a line 35. Each lateral extension 34 is provided with an aperture 36 which is in the form of a hexagon with two of its faces 37 and 38 parallel and extending in the longitudinal direction of the blank, the inner edge 38 coinciding with the outer edge of the reinforcing flange 32. The aperture 36 is of somewhat larger size than the apertures 24 so that the remainder of the material in each extension 34 surrounds an aperture 24 when the extensions are folded into face engaging relation with the wall forming panels 17, 18, 20, 21 and 22 and forms a double thickness or double ply reinforcement in the areas immediately around the apertures. At the outer end each extension 34 is provided with a recess 39 which has the form of one end of an aperture 36 and which permits the end portion of the extension 34 to form a reinforcement around the end of the middle aperture 24 in the blank 10. Each extension 34 and the adjoining portion of the flange formation 32 or 32 is creased on parallel transverse crease lines as at 11 and 28 etc. in FIG. 3 which are in transverse alignment with the respective corner forming crease lines and which coincide therewith when the extensions 34 are folded over into face engagement with the wall forming panels of the blank 10. These crease lines are, of course, interrupted by the apertures 36 and end recesses 39.

In assembling the carrier for use, the blank is first folded on the score lines 33, 33' to bring the flanges 32, 32' and the reinforcing extensions 34 thereon into overlapping engagement with the wall forming panels of the blank and secured by appropriate lines or areas of adhesive as indicated at 40 and 41 on the blank 10. The cans or other objects are then positioned on the bottom forming panel 22 and the side wall panels 20 and 21 and top wall forming flaps 17 and 18 are wrapped around the same and secured in position. The articles are arranged in row formation and the top and bottom edges of the cans extend into the apertures 24 which insures that the cans will be held in proper assembled position. In the set up condition of the carton, the side walls 20* and 21 are spaced from each other a distance which is less than the overall width of the transversely aligned pairs of cans so that the top outwardly projecting seam formations of the cans extend into the vertically aligned apertures and the portions of the side walls which extend vertically between the apertures are pulled in between the cans. The cans are securely held in the carrier by the frictional engagement of the top and bottom edge portions of the top and bottom 7 apertures, the latter being forced into the respective apertures over which they extend by reason of the difference in width of the carrier between the transversely aligned apertures and the transverse width of the cans. The inturned flaps 34 of the blank 10 provide a double thickness or double ply of material in the areas around the apertures 24 and reinforce the edges of the paperboard which surround said apertures thereby preventing rupture or tearing at these edges which otherwise tends to occur due to the tension in the material resulting from the locking engagement with the edges of the can and relative movements of the cans during the packing and subsequent 4 i handling of the carriers. The apertures 36 may, of course, have the same size and shape as the apertures 24, if desired, or they may have any other shape which will provide proper clearance for the can and adequate reinforcement for the material in the areas immediately surrounding the apertures 24.

While specific materials and particular details of construction have been referred to in describing the form of carrier illustrated, it will be understood that other materials and other details of construction may be resorted to within the spirit of the invention.

1 claim:

1. A blank for wrapping around a plurality of cylindrical articles which are arranged in row formation and in longitudinal and transverse alignment so as to enclose the same, said blank comprising a rectangular sheet of relatively flexible paperboard material which is divided by transversely spaced, longitudinally extending, parallel creases into a center section and side sections, said center section being divided by longitudinally spaced, transversely extending creases into a bottom wall forming panel, adjoining side wall forming panels and a pair of top wall forming panels, each said wall forming panel being sepa rated from the next adjacent wall forming panel by relatively narrow edge forming panels which are provided with transversely spaced, longitudinally aligned apertures for receiving the outermost top and bottom edge portions of the articles when said blank is wrapped about the same, the longitudinal distance between the side wall forming panels being slightly less than the transverse dimension of said articles, said side sections being cut to provide relatively narrow strip portions extending along the center section and a series of reinforcing flaps which extend laterally at the ends of said narrow edge forming panels and which are apertured so that when folded inwardly over said narrow edge forming panels the apertures therein are aligned with the article receiving apertures in said edge forming panels and said flaps extend over the panel areas immediately surrounding the article receiving openings thereby forming a reinforcement for the article engaging edges of the latter.

2. A multiple panel paperboard blank adapted to be formed into a tube-like carton for packaging a plurality of cylindrical objects having a predetermined diameter and relatively flat ends, said blank being divided by spaced parallel score lines into an elongate center wall forming section and laterally extending reinforcing panel forming side sections, said center section being divided by parallel, transverse score lines into a plurality of wall forming panels and relatively narrow corner connecting panels, said corner connecting panels extending between each two adjacent wall forming panels and having object receiving openings spaced transversely of the blank, said blank side sections each being cut to provide a relatively narrow continuous edge reinforcing strip adjacent the parallel score line which separates the blank side and center sections and a plurality of approximately rectangular reinforcing panels which are aligned in the direction transversely of the blank with the ends of said corner connecting panels and which have openings cut therein so as to register with the object receiving openings in said corner connecting panels when said blank side sections are folded inwardly upon the inside face of said center section whereby to provide for reinforcing the blank in the marginal areas around said object receiving openings.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

